


Homebound

by Hiiraeth (V_eritas)



Series: Regeneration 'Verse [3]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Coming Out, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Sex, Jinchuuriki Nohara Rin, M/M, Nohara Rin Lives, Non-graphic injuries, Uchiha Massacre, Uzumaki Kushina Lives, bisexual Kakashi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-09-06 22:03:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20298652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/V_eritas/pseuds/Hiiraeth
Summary: [Regeneration-verse, age 18-19]A series of connected one-shots set in the Regeneration 'verse, where Rin doesn't die, Obito is brainwashed, and Kushina survives Kyuubi.Future drabbles, not necessarily in this order:1. Tenzou, ROOT, and Rin makes a decision.2. Getting together, bisexuality, and more.3. Kushina reflects on her kids.4. Uchiha Massacre and Sasuke.





	1. [Age 18] ROOT; Tenzou; Distance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Homebound is essentially a collection of stories that, if I had had the time and motivation, I would’ve turned into a much longer story akin to Regeneration and Inheritance. I will take prompts for this story, though I might not write everything.
> 
> To those of you who are new to my writing, hi! This story is probably better if you have read the rest of the series, so if you’re up for a long-format series, be sure to start with Regeneration.
> 
> At the start of Homebound, they are both around 18 years old.  
Happy reading!

There’s a boy on Rin’s couch, and he’s bleeding out. It’s not the sort of sight she expects to come home to, especially since Kakashi moved to ANBU headquarters a year ago, but old instincts die hard. She’s already opening the medicine cabinet before she’s fully registered she’s never seen the boy before in her life.

He’s ghostly pale and barely coherent by the time she sinks down on her knees beside him, and swats at her with his hand. There’s no real strength or coordination behind it. He’s young, probably no more than fourteen, with long brown hair that fans out across the couch beneath him and large black eyes that observe her with the kind of wariness that comes from years on the battlefield. He’s young, but he’s a veteran.

She reaches out with her senses and finds Kakashi moments before he reenters her living room, carrying her emergency supply of medical aid. Not for the first time, the awareness of his presence brings irritation in its wake.

“Rin – he’s been stabbed and is bleeding internally. He doesn’t have much time,” he says, without any preamble. It’s the first time she's seen him in four weeks, but it doesn’t matter; she springs into action. A comrade is dying; she will do what she can.

“What’s his name?” She asks, as she shears the remainders of the boy’s clothes away.

Kakashi hesitates long enough for her to notice. “Tenzou,” he says.

The boy wears the tight black undershirt all ANBU wear and there are tanning lines around his ears. Rin can do the math. She accepts the answer anyway. “Tenzou? Can you hear me?”

Those glassy eyes turn on her. The boy moans softly. He extends another hand, more curious than aggressive this time, before his eyes find Kakashi. They are wide and wild and Rin doubts he understands anything they are saying to him.

“It’s okay – this is Rin. She will help you,” Kakashi says, crouching near Tenzou’s feet. There’s an unusual softness in his eyes Rin hasn’t seen before. The boy’s eyes slip closed again and he moans softly.

Rin pushes aside her irritation and focuses on her chakra. The only way to heal is to separate herself completely from Isobu, which feels increasingly unnatural as time goes by. The demon doesn’t complain as much these days, though, and Rin is a determined sort. It comes to her after a moment, and then healing energy pours into Tenzou’s gut and knits torn arteries back together. He is terrifyingly pale and his eyes are ringed with shadows but Rin isn’t afraid. She got to him in time.

With the worst of the bleeding stopped, she turns her hands and places them on the boy’s abdomen, pushing the wound back together. In the space of one moment, his back arches, he screams, and his right arm comes up to throttle her.

His grip is around her throat for all of a second before Kakashi is there, sparks flying around his own hand as he tears Tenzou’s away. Tenzou’s hand, which had looked perfectly normal before, now seemed grossly misshapen and inhuman, but whatever jutsu he’s using is forced back by Kakashi’s lightning style, leaving normal skin in its wake.

Rin sits back on her haunches as her heart thunders in her chest. She’s not afraid – she’s angry. “Hold him down this time,” she orders, and waits for Kakashi to do so.

Tenzou squirms against his grip for a moment, but when Rin places her hands around the wound once more he blissfully loses consciousness. When the wound closes she slowly tapers off the flow of chakra and checks over the rest of him, making sure she hasn’t missed any other bleeds. Many a soldier has died on the battlefield because of the negligence of his medic.

When she is satisfied, she finally turns to Kakashi. He looks tired and mission worn, Tenzou’s blood splattered across his arms and chest piece, but his color is decent. Still, she knows him, so she stands up and says: “where does it hurt?”

He sighs in defeat and taps his left shoulder. Together, they take off the shoulder buckle of his armor so Rin can place her hand across the deep purple collarbone. It’s broken, so she ruthlessly pushes the two halves back in place and stimulates their growth. He has at least ten inches on her by now, and she has to stretch to reach him properly.

She’s not a full-time medic – the level of concentration she has to muster to bypass Isobu’s influence is mentally exhausting – but she is grateful she can put him back together.

They leave the room together and find themselves standing awkwardly in the kitchen, looking at anything but each other. Their former ease has faded along with the frequency of their visits. It aches to stand beside him and feel as though he is a stranger, but right now her anger is stronger than her longing.

“I don’t hear from you for four weeks, and then you barge into my house with an injured ANBU, who tries to strangle me,” she says quietly. He has the decency to look embarrassed. “Why didn’t you take him to a hospital?”

He runs his good hand over his face and leans back against the counter, slumping back into his usual slouch now that the adrenaline is leaving his system. “Couldn’t. Too many eyes.”

Rin frowns. “What do you mean?”

He sighs again, shakes his head. “I shouldn’t tell you. I don’t want to endanger you.”

She scoffs. “I’m always in danger. What happened to telling each other everything?”

She knows what happened. He left to join ANBU, or some shady side branch run by Danzou that he’s not allowed to talk about. He’s being run ragged; she hasn’t seen him look like he’s slept a full night for a year. And he won’t talk about it. Not any of it. Not even when he comes home covered in blood, shaking like he’s hypothermic.

It’s slowly killing him, and she _hates_ it. But the worst part is that he stopped talking.

Even now, she sees him hesitate. “Kakashi, you took an ANBU agent into my home because, and I quote, you _couldn’t_ take him to the hospital. If you didn’t want me to find out something is going on, you wouldn’t have come here.”

He groans and sinks his face into his hands. After a moment, she hears a muffled chuckle. “I forget how sharp you are,” he says. “Sorry. I – sorry.”

“I’d rather you talk than apologize,” she says.

“It’s complicated. Dangerous. I know you can handle dangerous, but…” He trails off and shrugs. “You can’t let anyone know he’s here. He got into trouble today. A lot of trouble. He needs to keep his head down for a while.”

She feels herself grow agitated with his evasiveness. “What could he have possibly done wrong? I healed him for you – please answer.”

He finally meets her eyes. He rubs his arms together, massaging tired muscles. His eyes drop down again. “He’s part of Danzou’s elite.”

She goes still. The boy is ROOT. It’s hard to believe, from a boy who had looked barely old enough to be a chunin. Then again, she wouldn't be the first to pay for mistaking youth for innocence with her life.

“Why did you bring him here?” She asks again.

Kakashi looks conflicted. “He – he helped me, today.”

“How?”

He grunts and runs a hand through his hair, frustrated. “He’s ROOT. So was I, for a little bit, until I wasn’t. Danzou doesn’t like it when people change their minds. He _really_ doesn’t like it. Doesn’t like _me_, period.”

She folds her arms over one another. “I don’t like where this is going.”

“You shouldn’t. Long story short, I have been doing assignments for ROOT under false pretenses. Told him I’d be his loyal servant out of my hatred for Sandaime. I neglected to tell him that while I don’t always agree with Sandaime, I like Danzou even less. He has been trying to manipulate me since before we brought back Tsunade,” Kakashi says, keeping his voice low and quick.

Anxiety spikes through her body. “You’re a double agent,” she breathes.

“I couldn’t tell anyone,” he says, pleading with his eyes. “He has ears everywhere. I trust you, but no one else.”

She’s reeling. “But Danzou found out?”

“Oh yes. I still don’t know how, but about two months ago one of my teammates tried to break my neck while we were fighting a kiri team,” he says, the inflection barely changing despite the topic.

Rin’s heart races in her chest. “He wants you dead,” she states.

He nods.

“Did you kill him? This teammate? She asks, fueled by a sense of urgency. Is this person still walking around, waiting for an opportunity to finish his mission? Whose spine does she have to rip out of their body?

Kakashi’s face does a funny thing and then settles into a faint smile. “I knocked him out, tied him up, and gave him a lecture. Wasn’t sure whether it worked, until he saved my life today, when a ROOT agent disguised as a bounty hunter tried to stab me in the gut.”

Rin’s blood runs cold. “The boy –“

“Yes. The boy,” he smiles.

She gapes at him, then punches him in his good shoulder. “You’re not serious.”

“Of course I am.”

_“_You brought your_ would-be assassin _into_ my house _so I could_ heal _him_!“ _she hisses.

“Well, yeah –“

“The actual _ROOT agent who tried to murder you_.“

“Yep.”

She is sure she looks ridiculous, flapping about her hands in her mouth in a vain attempt to express her incredulity. In the end, all that comes out is, “_What_?”

His smile finally fades and he brushes his fingers against her shoulder. His skin is reassuringly warm. “He’s just a kid, and he’s got history. I figured he deserved a second chance.”

“I don’t understand.”

“He’s one of Orochimaru’s former subjects,” Kakashi says, with shadows in his eyes.

That shuts her up. She’s heard about them, of course. Everyone has. She just didn’t think any of them had survived, aside from Anko, and she had only survived because she had been a favored student. Rin glances back at the couch where the boy still sleeps. She saw no marks on his skin, no signs that he’s different. But he’s ROOT and fourteen. That’s not a common combination. She had thought Kakashi was the only one.

She’s always had a bit of a soft spot for unlikely survivors.

Kakashi must see the softening of her face because he lets the air escape from between his teeth and leans back against the counter again. “He was taken as a baby. He has no idea who his parents are, or if they’re even alive. Orochimaru took fifty-nine other kids, beside him. He’s the only one who lived.”

Rin curses. 

“He was rescued when the rest of the operation was taken down. I don’t know how Danzou got his hands on him, but it happened. The kid doesn’t know anything other than laboratories and ROOT,” Kakashi explains, and God, if she could unleash the power of her demon on anyone, it would be men like _them_.

She thinks for a moment. “And now what? Where do you go from here? The boy – Tenzou, does he understand ROOT is – is…” She struggles to find the right words.

“He’s starting to. He trusts me. I can influence him,” Kakashi says.

“Not if you’re assassinated first. Or if he is, trying to protect you,” she counters.

“Don’t you think it’s right to try?”

She hesitates. The answer should be yes, of course – but part of her wants to argue ROOT agents shouldn’t get second chances. Then again, what makes them so different? Her personal dislike of Danzou?

“It is right,” she admits.

He looks relieved. “I thought you would agree. Look, I’m sorry for dropping in like this –“

Rin cuts him off. She’s not sure she is ready for that conversation. “You said he tried to kill you a month ago. How long has this been going on? How long have you been working for ROOT?”

He closes his mouth and stares back at her. He sighs. “Of course. I’m sorry. For as long as I’ve been ANBU.”

She’s stunned. “For almost two years,” she says incredulously. “Two years, and you told no one? Not me, not Kushina?”

His gaze drops to his feet. “It had to remain a secret.”

Rin’s chest aches. “You’re my best friend,” she says. “You have been since we were just fourteen years old. You were always there for me, and I thought you always would be. But then you moved away, and _you stopped talking to me_.”

“Rin, I –“

“I’m not done yet,” she interrupts. “I saw you after missions that left you shaking from head to toe. I asked and I asked what was wrong, and you wouldn’t tell me. I thought it was me, somehow.” Her eyes burn.

“_No_, Rin.” He sounds distraught.

“Well, what was I supposed to think? We were inseparable! We talked about everything, and suddenly you – you just _vanished_. Sure, we went to lunch a few times, we saw each other when we met Kushina and Naruto, but you were always distracted or exhausted, or, or…” She shakes her head. Her eyes burn. “I was so worried, and I didn’t know what to do. If you had just told me _something_, that would have helped.”

He presses himself against the counter, chin dropping to his chest. He nods a few times. “You’re angry with me,” he says softly.

“_Yes_, I am.”

“I didn’t think you’d – no, that’s not true. I wasn’t thinking, period.”

“Why not? How can you go from living with someone and sharing just about everything to just… Not thinking they would mind if you up and left?” Rin asks, and damn her voice for cracking. “I’m not angry you left. I don’t own you, I don’t want you to stop living your own life for my sake. I’m angry that you stopped _talking_ to me.”

He doesn’t say anything, so she continues. “Like we weren’t friends. Like we didn’t lose Obito and Minato-sensei together. Even Kushina-nee noticed. She thought you were ill. ”

He flinches. It doesn’t make her feel any better.

“I’m sorry,” he says. His voice rasps. ““I hurt you.”

“Yes, you did.”

“I’m sorry,” he says.

“Why did you stop?”

“I don’t know.”

Silence. She glances over toward the living room to see if their raised voices didn't wake Tenzou. He's still. She looks back at Kakashi but only meets his eyes for a moment before dropping her gaze.

“We were _worried_ about you,” Rin says, in a much gentler voice. He’s still avoiding her eyes. “I just wanted to help.” She reaches out; there’s dirt on his armor. She wipes it away before her hands involuntarily linger. If she focuses, she can feel his heartbeat. She hates the armor; she’s seen him bleed on it too many times.

He goes still, and his heartbeat slows down underneath her palm. One hand closes gently around her wrist. “I wasn’t sure you would still care so much,” he murmurs.

Her head ducks. His fingers are warm. “Of course I care. I always care,” she says. _I_ _have loved you for years_, she doesn’t say.

They stand there in silence, neither of them sure of what to do. She is painfully aware of his proximity, even though he reeks of blood and sweat. He's warm and solid and strong, and the most familiar person in the world. She wants to be this close to him, always.

Nonetheless, she steps away. She wants more than proximity, more than friendly hugs. She wants things that make her knees go weak. There were times when she thought he wanted the same thing, but then he left. He stopped talking to her.

Her feelings, she's decided, are stupidly stubborn. She wasn't meant to pine. Perhaps the only way out is to get a clear answer out of him, one of these days, and finally close this chapter of her life. She loves him, but she doesn’t want to spend her life waiting.

He's still staring at his feet when his head jerks to the left, caught by something she cannot hear. "Tenzou is waking up. We should, err. "

She nods just a little bit too quickly. One of these days she's going to tell him or kiss him or do something, but not while she has an injured kid on her sofa who may or may not be an evil assassin, and not while he still avoiding her.

Before he's left the kitchen, though, Rin catches Kakashi's wrist. "Danzou won't want to kill you any less," she says. "But we've faced greater threats. We'll think of something, alright? Just don’t disappear on me again."

His visible eye widens and curves into a faint smile. "You’re too damn forgiving, Nohara Rin," he murmurs. 

She musters up a smile. “I'm not.

I just know when you're being..."

She trails off awkwardly, and sees amusement grow in his eyes. He handles his body towards her a little further.

"Just being what?"

Her face flushes. "You have been known to do anything to avoid talking about your feelings."

He snorts and gives a self-deprecating smile. "You know me so well."

"Lucky you," Rin says, "just… Please keep talking." Unable to take his gaze any longer she pulls away and enters the living room to see how Tenzou's doing.

"Lucky me," he sighs behind her, soft enough that she barely hears it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rin’s adult height is only 5’1 to Kakashi’s 5’11. She may be short, but she’s here to kick your ass.
> 
> Thoughts, ideas? How do you think they should get together?


	2. [Age 18] Getting together, bisexuality, and more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I promised something different for this chapter, but the original premise of chapter 2 wasn’t doing much for me. I realize skipping the actual getting together after writing two long-ass stories is an interesting choice, but in my head they were always a foregone conclusion. The how and when was never as important to me as the “what’s next”. Also, I remembered that I decided to write one shots instead of a full-blown story so that I wouldn’t have to break my brain over how to get everything to work. That settled it.
> 
> Hope you will enjoy this one. It's the one that was most requested: bi Kakashi! Also, discussions of KakaObiRin.
> 
> Big thanks to @keepyourpantsongohan for proofreading this chapter, listening to my concerns, and suggesting the Gai gag <3 <3 <3

(Age 18-19)

* * *

(Sandaime transfers Kakashi to regular ANBU shortly after the incident. There’s not much to be gained from him staying in ROOT now that Danzou no longer trusts him.

Danzou makes one last attempt at destroying the information Kakashi gathered before the transfer is complete. The would-be assassin runs into the world’s last Mokuton user and a full-fledged jinchuuriki before he can ever get to Kakashi. They send him packing with a note pinned to his back that reads “don’t make this any harder than it needs to be,” followed by Kakashi’s signature henohenomoheji. 

That’s the last attempt Danzou makes. He looks particularly sour-faced whenever Kakashi sees him thereafter.

Tenzou puts his foot in his mouth the first time he meets Rin by making the assumption she is Kakashi’s girlfriend. Kakashi can’t quite hide his mortification. He can’t quite hide his disappointment, either.

“Right, okay,” Tenzou says when they explain they are not together. His face goes carefully blank. It’s an expression he reserves especially for when Kakashi has said something particularly stupid. Kakashi can’t quite disagree.

Later that evening, before Kakashi goes back to his own place, Rin sinks down on the couch beside him and says, “I don’t think Tenzou-kun was very impressed with either of us.”

Kakashi grimaces and agrees.

“It’s funny, though, isn’t it, that he thought we were together?” She presses on, nudging his side.

He nods again, numbly.

“Except, maybe it’s not funny,” she says, staring ahead of her with the kind of determination she usually reserves for battle.

“It’s not?” He asks.

“No. I mean.” She looks slightly panicked. “We’re not together. But we’re not quite… Not not together, either. I mean, we act like a couple. We just don’t…” She makes a couple of interesting gestures in the air.

His eyebrows rise to meet his hairline. “You mean…”

She nods, blushing furiously. “We tell each other everything. We fight crime together. We argue whenever you stay away for too long. You make eyes at me when you think I can't see. It’s like – oh, I’m just making things more complicated,” she interrupts herself angrily. “I’m trying to tell you I wouldn’t mind if we were together. And I think you wouldn’t mind either. Right?”

He says something terribly intelligent at that point in time, though it comes out sounding like “…huh.”

So she kisses him. For a moment, she's terrified. Then, large, calloused hands cradle her face and _oh_, he's kissing her back. Carefully, and a little uncertain, but he's there, warm and real and for the first time, committing. Her fear vanishes and she's smiling against his mouth, making the kiss a little harder to coordinate, but she's pretty sure he smiling too, and shit, are those his teeth? Those things are lethal, retreat, retreat, and she is laughing now, still caught in his embrace as they part.

Both his eyes are open as he laughs back at her. The smile fades just a little.

"Sorry," he says, as she says "teeth". They laugh again. His breath is warm against her face.

"Just another skill to practice?" She giggles, feeling high.

His eyebrows go up a little. "Yeah? You want to –?"

"I've wanted that for years, you fool," she retorts, smiling, and has the rare privilege of seeing Hatake Kakashi blush.

"Right," he says. He moves his arms around her. "Made you wait, didn't I?"

"It's on brand." She pushes up to her toes and kisses him again. It goes rather better this time.)

* * *

The first week they are together is like a fever dream, one stolen moment after another, all of them filled with smiles and nerves and kissing.

You’d think it gets old, but it doesn’t, really. Especially when hands start wandering and, well… It’s a week of many firsts. They don’t sleep together – too much, too soon, the thought of it sending both their over-exhausted minds over a threshold they are not yet willing to cross – but there’s careful exploring and cuddling and frankly, Kakashi doesn’t think he’s been touched this much his entire life.

It’s nice, though. It’s fun, it feels good, and when it gets to be too much he pulls back and Rin respects his boundaries.

On one such an afternoon they lie back on the bed – too small for the both of them, but they manage – they stare up at the ceiling and just enjoy each other’s company.

The pleasant silence is broken when Rin asks, gently: “have you ever kissed someone before me?”

The question startles him and he turns to look at her. It’s not the sort of thing they’ve ever discussed, and he wonders now whether it’s because they were always thinking of each other, and talking of other people seemed disrespectful.

He hesitates, then moves forward.

“I have,” he admits.

Rin turns curious eyes on him. He sees surprise on her features, but there’s no judgment.

“Were you in love with her?” She asks, and God, there’s no jealousy, and he’s such a lucky man to be in her life.

‘Her’, though.

There was a time, a year and a half ago, where his unrelenting affection for Rin had been briefly accompanied by a flash burn crush. His name was Inuzuka Hige, and he was beautiful. The confusing bit was not so much that Hige was a man but that he had managed to fall in love with two people at the same time. Frankly, he hadn’t known it was possible. Obito would have laughed himself silly. Stone cold Kakashi is secretly a big softie who will fall for the first pair of beautiful dark eyes to smile at him.

(Soft, warm brown and liquid black, both so very pretty.)

He clears his throat. He trusts her, more than anyone. He knows her. He loves her. “There was a boy,” he says slowly, “in ANBU.”

He waits.

After a moment, her fingers curl around his hand.

“What was his name?” She asks, her voice as gentle and curious as before.

Some of the tension leaks out of his body. “Hige. He was a rookie as well. He dropped out, though. Injury.”

They both go quiet. He risks a look at her. She’s looking up at him, her brown eyes beautiful and accepting.

“I don’t know if I was in love with him, exactly,” he says. “But I liked him. But I liked you, too. At the same time. I don’t know if that’s… Normal.” He ran a hand through his hair, suddenly self-conscious.

She smiles. “Maybe you just have a lot of love in your heart.”

He elbows her gently in her side. “Only you could think that of me.”

“That’s because I know you so well,” she teases back. “How did you meet him?”

“Rescue mission. His team was in trouble, we assisted them. He and I were sent out to scout together.”

“And you thought he was..?”

“I don’t know. Handsome, I guess. Good at his job.”

“I didn’t know –“ Rin stops, seems to reconsider her words. “Have you always liked boys as well?”

He shrugs. “I suppose so,” he says. He’s known he finds men as attractive as women for years and has never minded. It didn't occur to him to wonder what Rin might think until she asked whether he had ever been with anyone else.

“Okay. Thank you for sharing that,” she presses a kiss to his shoulder. “Can I ask what happened?”

Perhaps if it were anyone else, he would feel uncomfortable to be asked so many questions. But it’s Rin, and if Hige’s energy was that of determination and understated courage, Rin’s energy is calm and gentle and always, always kind.

“Time passed and we worked together on another mission. We talked. He… showed interest. I panicked,” he waits until she stops grinning, “then we talked some more, and he kissed me.”

Rin waits. Her thumb rubs circles across the back of his hand.

“We saw each other a few more times, and then I told him… Well, I told him about you. Before things could get serious, you know? I – I was confused. I didn’t want to lead him on.” He thinks about Hige’s quiet disappointment, and the ache in his own chest. “Maybe I was selfish for indulging him at all.”

“I don’t know. You said you liked us both. We weren’t together yet, and I didn’t have any sort of claim on you. You followed your feelings. It would only have been selfish if you’d kept going, while thinking you liked me better.”

He sighs. “I hope you’re right.”

He pushes away the gloom, by now a familiar maneuver, and forces his mind onto brighter things. “He was on a date, last I saw him. Kid sitting with him blushed every time he looked at Hige, so I think he turned out all right.”

She smiles and darts in for a chaste peck on the lips. She turns onto her side and wraps an arm around his waist, putting her head on his shoulder. “Would I like Hige-san?” She asks.

Kakashi opens his mouth and closes it again. “He reminded me of Obito,” he admits, quietly.

Rin goes still against his side. Her breath puffs against his throat. “That’s a yes, then.”

He wraps his arm around her shoulders to stroke her hair. “Yeah.”

They go quiet again. Another thought comes to Kakashi.

“Obito would have been a rubbish kisser,” Kakashi says, and Rin begins to giggle against his chest.

“Just at first, I mean,” he amends. “He would keep on practicing until he was good at it, knowing him.”

Rin keeps laughing, but as always when they talk about Obito, their hearts feel a little bit heavier.

“Too enthusiastic,” Rin sniffs. “And way too much tongue.”

This sets them both off again, despite the lump in his throat that he’s sure Rin feels as well. The laughter fades and only the sadness remains.

“Do you think you could have loved him, too?” She asks.

He swallows past the pain. “I think so. You?”

“Yes.” She releases her grip on his waist to wipe at her eyes. “Although I’m not sure how it would work, fitting three people into this tiny little bed.”

The notion warms him and surprises him both; leave it to Rin to provide the best possible option to an entirely hypothetical love triangle. She could have loved Obito, but she would still have loved Kakashi, too. It’s the best kind of affirmation, even though in his heart of hearts he doesn’t believe Obito would have loved him back. He will indulge her in her fantasy, because it’s too good a dream to break her out of it.

“We would have figured it out,” he croaks.

He can feel her smile against his skin and tightens his hold on her.

“Thanks,” he says, around the lump in his throat. He clears it. “For not being weird about me liking both of you.”

“It’s all right,” Rin says softly. “Thank you for trusting me with it.”

He feels so warm. The deep-seated loneliness he’s become so used to feeling is nowhere to be found, for once. He wonders what Obito would have made if this. Whether his father might have been proud.

He wonders how on earth he is going to protect this. 

Rin taps his nose with two fingers. “You haven’t asked me if I’ve ever kissed anyone before you,” she says playfully.

He blinks out of his reverie. “… Have you?”

“Gai, when we were six,” she fires back.

Kakashi gapes at her. He pictures Gai in his mind, chanting ‘_24 – 23 in my favor, rival_!’ somewhere in the distance. He thinks perhaps he loses a few brain cells.

Rin begins to laugh. “He dodged, actually. Obito tried to fight him to defend my honor. You can imagine how that went.”

He props himself up on his elbow so she slides off of him, still laughing. The corners of his own mouth slide up involuntarily.

“That actually happened, though?” He asks.

She flushes. “I thought he was nice.”

Kakashi blinks and lays back on the bed. “I suppose he is,” he says, still a little disbelieving. “Huh. Of all the people to get there before me.”

“And after that, I thought about Kurenai sometimes,” she says. “Though I didn’t quite understand why.”

“Now that, I _can_ see.” He thinks for a moment, once he’s stopped smiling. “Did you and her, uhm…”

Rin purses her lips and shakes her head. “I don’t think I realized it was a possibility until I no longer felt that way about her.”

“Oh. I’m… Sorry?” _Should_ he apologize? He frowns, unsure.

Rin shrugs. “People will just assume that because you’re a girl you’ll only like boys. If the world tells you often enough, it can blind you to your own truth.”

He turns her words over in his head a few times. It doesn’t reflect his own experience, but he can see where she’s coming from. People tend to prioritize other things for girls than for boys, anyway. They taught him how to throw knives, her how to arrange flowers. They talked to him about how strong he would become – they talked to her about who she would marry.

“I am sorry,” he decides. “It’s not right.”

She sighs. “Well, we can only change the world one day at a time, right?”

His smile slowly returns. “Are you saying heteronormativity and sexism are other issues you’d like to tackle, along with world peace and equal rights for jinchuuriki?” He says, only half teasing.

“Well,” she begins, pulling a face. “We might at least _try_.”

He wraps his arms around her suddenly and draws her against him, hiding his grin in her hair. She squeals and laughs. She’s impossible, this girl. The eternal idealist, no matter what the world throws at her. She’s so _good,_ that he feels like a mere shadow at her feet. His own moral compass is cracked and battered, but when he can find it it points firmly towards Rin.

She pushes back so he lets her go, watching as she sits back on her haunches. Her face flushes and her hair sticks in every direction. “I’m glad we’re talking again,” she says. “I couldn’t bear it when we didn’t.”

His heart breaks a little, then swells. “I’m trying,” he says, and he is, he is, but it’s hard sometimes.

“I know. I love that about you,” she says, burrowing back against his side. “You never stop trying.”

He pouts. “I can’t tell if that’s a compliment.”

“Of course it is. Do you know how many people just give up on improving themselves? They don’t care. _You_ care.”

He sighs. “You taught me how. You and Obito.”

She presses a kiss to his chest, right where his heart is. “I think you would have gotten there without us, too. You have a good heart. Don’t argue with me on that one, my opinion cannot be swayed,” she adds, primly.

He groans.

They’re quiet for a while.

“Where do we go from here, though?” Kakashi asks softly.

“I don’t know,” she admits. “Probably we should tell Kushina-nee. If she finds out from someone else, she will murder us.”

“Oh God.”

“Best not to challenge fate.”

“Wherever we go, though,” she continues, “I think we’ll be okay.”

He takes her hand and kisses it. “Yeah. I think so too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Particularly keen readers might have seen Hige show up before, in Inheritance chapter 1. Not only is Hige super pretty, he also triggered Kakashi's not-so-secret competence kink. Woof.
> 
> Leave a comment if you liked it!


	3. [Age 18] A few outside perspectives.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few outside perspectives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hints of AsuKure and ShizunexAnko.

Kushina is not sure when she comes to think of Kakashi and Rin as her kids, but she does. She had loved them before Minato died but it had been a different kind of love. She had worried over them, especially after what happened to Obito, but so would any woman who sees children go into dangerous situations.

(She has had nightmares about Obito. Before, he had been her favorite. Now, he is just another ghost in her graveyard.)

That was all before Minato died, though. There’s a lot of things she used to feel before he died. The world had been incrementally simpler and kinder. She had given up her ambitions a long time ago, but for the sake of love, not out of resignation. Nowadays her chakra pathways are, to quote Tsunade, hanging together with sticky tape and sheer force of will. Kushina cannot become her husband’s successor. She cannot become much of anything, in this village.

The kids are young, though. Young and brave and, God, if she had to, Kushina would tear apart their enemies with her bare hands. The only person she would fight harder for is Naruto. They saved her life, and she thinks they’re nothing short of amazing.

Right now, though, she’s not sure what to do. They’re seated on the couch across from her looking like a pair of Academy children with their first crush. She’s pretty sure they’re holding hands underneath the table.

And they are together. As in, dating and making out and – and –

They’re just _babies_, though!

“But you’re,” she begins.

“Eighteen, Kushina-nee,” Rin says, sounding for all the world like an exhausted kindergarten teacher trying to explain why 2+3 = 5, not 6.

Kushina swallows. “I knew that.” But they look so young. She remembers when they were _eight_ and adorable, and it cannot possibly have been ten years already. Can it?

It can, of course. Rin is subtly beautiful now that her baby fat has left her cheeks, her soft brown hair falling down to her shoulders to emphasize the graceful line of her neck. It’s the kind of beauty that suggests a neat, gentle personality that Kushina knows is backed up by a spine of steel.

Kakashi has grown into a man, taller now than Minato had been though just as lean. He still has his ridiculous mess of hair but she suspects he’s quite the looker past all the layers. There’s a calm to him that hadn’t been there before, giving him a reassuring air that she knows makes younger shinobi look up to him.

They are not children anymore. The thought is both comforting and sad.

Naruto squirms impatiently in her arms and she lets him go. He whoops and lands on the wooden floor with remarkable agility before dashing away as fast as his four-year-old little legs can carry him. He’s been obsessed with playing Hokage lately, which is a new kind of painful Kushina hadn’t expected, and she’s sure it won’t be long before they can hear his cheers coming from his room. Well, good. This is the kind of conversation he shouldn’t be there for, anyway.

Mind made up, she slams her fist on the table. “Are you using protection?” She asks firmly.

Rin’s lips thin and Kakashi’s face goes a remarkable shade of red. He’s not said much during this entire conversation, and Kushina is not surprised when it’s Rin who answers.

“We’re taking all the right measures,” she says, still in that infuriatingly patient voice. “Seeing as we are both responsible adults.”

Kushina leans back and crosses her arms over her chest. “And you know all about consent, right? And about where to find the woman’s –“

“Mahh,” Kakashi says, just a little bit too loud, “We’ve got everything figured out. Thank you for your advice.” Even his ears are red.

Kushina decimates him with a critical look. He shrinks in his seat.

“… All right,” she says. “What about your living arrangements?”

Rin laughs sheepishly. “Kushina-nee, all of these questions really aren’t necessary, we’re quite responsible –“

“_Living arrangements_?” Kushina says, in a voice that will not broker disagreement. Rin shrinks a little, too.

“We’re living apart for now,” Rin says.

“And you’re not thinking of doing something as dumb as getting married?” Kushina asks, eyes still narrowed.

In tandem, they shake their heads.

Kushina finally lets herself smile. “Good. Now.” She stands up and thoroughly enjoys their little flinch. “Let me be the first to congratulate the two of you on getting your heads out of your asses and finally seeing what you mean to each other. I mean, really!” She laughs. “I was starting to think I had to stage an intervention. Seriously, kids!”

“Huh,” Kakashi says. Rin stares blankly.

“What? You think I didn’t notice you two making eyes at each other? ‘Course I did! I’m a master of observation,” Kushina says, puffing out her chest. “And anyway, it was getting kind of painful to watch.”

The kids cringe. Kushina grins. She opens her arms wide. “Now, come on and give me a hug.”

* * *

A few days later, Mikoto comes over to deliver her youngest son to Naruto’s room. It’s only their second play date, but the two mothers are starting to realize with growing trepidation that between the two of them, the boys would probably bring down the house if left without supervision.

Mikoto doesn’t seem very impressed by the news that Kakashi and Rin are dating. She just snorts and says, “That explains why he’s been so distracted during training lately.”

After which, naturally, Kushina does her best to extract embarrassing stories about the stuck up little brat for blackmail purposes, but Mikoto is frustratingly tightlipped. She cares about the kid too, and she’s one of those annoying people who don’t break their friends’ trust by telling embarrassing stories about them. It’s a great character trait, of course, but in this particular context Kushina would have liked for her best friend to be a little bit more corrupt.

Alas. Some people are too good to be corrupted.

“Time moves so quickly,” she says instead, letting some of her nostalgia tinge her voice. “Before long, even our boys will grow into adults.”

Mikoto gives her a commiserating smile. “Only if they don’t burn down the village before then, my dear.”

* * *

Naruto doesn’t have too much of an opinion on the matter. He’s too busy trying to outdo Sasuke at building blocks. So long as his “brother” and “sister” hang out with him, he’s perfectly happy. No matter what they get up to behind closed doors.

* * *

Kurenai thinks it’s sweet, all things considered, but she draws the line at blatant PDA. Fortunately, so do Rin and Kakashi. They hardly even hold hands where anyone can see them, which is perhaps taking things a little too far. Nonetheless, it’s preferable to the way Anko clings to Shizune – they’re no less cute, of course, but there are some things Kurenai doesn’t need to know about her friends. Such as the fact that Shizune is terribly ticklish. Or that Anko, going by her whispered comments, is surprisingly vanilla in her tastes. Or that Shizune is not.

It’s strange, watching her friends date. At least she still has Asuma, Gai and Genma, who are every bit as single she is. At least she has someone to share exasperated looks with. Well, two people, at least. She’s not sure Gai fully understands what’s happening, but he’s decided to be comically jealous anyway. It’s probably best he doesn’t understand, or he would try and find someone to date himself in order to “even the score”.

She glances briefly over at Asuma to gauge his opinion of their friends dating each other. Or, frankly, his opinion on dating. She sees his dark eyes staring straight at her before they both quickly look away. Her heart pounds in her chest.

It’s a good thing she’s above such things.

* * *

(It’s all well and good to be trapped inside a human again, once you’ve had an adjustment period. It’s the human mating rituals Sanbi can’t stand.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still taking prompts!


	4. [Age 21. The Darkest Day.]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rin and Kushina live. The Uchiha massacre still happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one gets pretty dark, as you might expect. TW minor character deaths and mention of dead bodies.

The tears won’t come. He finds Mikoto-sensei’s body sprawled across her husband’s, but the tears won’t come. The scent of death is familiar to his nostrils. Blood congeals slowly on the wooden floor like some sick repeat of his greatest childhood nightmare.

The call had come around 11 PM. Kakashi had been napping on the couch, Rin reading a book by his side, when the wards of their apartment had flared up and one of his colleagues had dropped in, telling him to get dressed and _hurry_.

They were too late, of course. He usually is. Itachi is long gone. He feels sick and his thoughts seem to be stuck in a loop, forever returning to the same horrible conclusion: little Uchiha Itachi snapped and murdered his entire family, and I didn’t see it coming.

“I didn’t see it coming,” he tells Mikoto’s lifeless face. It’s obvious that she’s dead, but he checks her pulse anyway. He raises his communicator to his mouth. “Uchiha Fugaku and Mikoto confirmed dead,” he croaks. Her name almost gets stuck in his throat.

He watches her face for a long, long moment. There are tears caught in her eyelashes. He wants to wipe them away. He wants the blood to go away and shake her back to life.

Experience has taught him such a thing is impossible.

He reaches out and carefully brushes her eyelids closed. “I’m sorry,” he whispers, and goes looking for her sons.

The rest of the house is empty and deathly still. He didn’t visit it often – he and Mikoto usually met on the training fields – but the stark lines and traditional furnishings are every inch Fugaku. He imagines Mikoto might have preferred a more modern look, and finds evidence of this in the kitchen, which seems newer than the rest of the house. Filthy dishes sit in the kitchen sink, alongside a small pan of leftover rice. He feels the urge to clean it up for her, but leaves it be.

Sasuke isn’t in the house. He ought to have been, at this hour, but Mikoto said he’s started to spread his wings and have little adventures of his own. Or perhaps Itachi dragged him out and killed him elsewhere, away from the judgment in their parents’ dead eyes.

Kakashi bites his tongue against the wave of nausea. He hasn’t felt more like his seven-year-old self standing in his father’s blood in years.

He raises the communicator once more. “Be on the lookout for Sa- Uchiha Sasuke, the youngest boy,” he says, his voice as steady as he can manage. He listens briefly to the static, then looks back towards the living room where the bodies are. The less he touches the better, even though everyone knows who did this.

His communicator crackles again. “We’ve found the boy,” Hige says, a hint of disbelief in his voice that Kakashi can’t quite place. “He – he’s alive, Captain. Shizune-san is checking him.”

Kakashi’s breath leaves his body in a sharp gust. He leans back against the kitchen counter, suddenly dizzy. “Status?” He asks.

A brief silence. “Unconscious,” Shizune says. “Likely to be in shock. We’re transporting him to the hospital as soon as possible.”

“Good. Keep him breathing,” he responds, sharper than he intended. He puts the communicator away and straightens his back. He hears footsteps outside, and then the door opens and more ANBU pour in. By the time they see him, he’s no longer the boy grieving for his mentor – he’s their captain again, straight-backed and collected. He gives them their orders and leaves the house at a brisk pace, relishing in the cooling nighttime air. There are corpses everywhere, though, and it’s not long before the smell of rot begins to permeate the compound. His skin feels unbearably hot and itchy and he wants nothing more than to leave.

He doesn’t, of course.

He takes care of the situation.

* * *

By the time he marches into the hospital, dark cloak flowing behind him, word has spread around the village. The lobby is filled with nurses and doctors running around, frantically dodging questions from a number of civilians and shinobi who’ve obviously heard the news.

They all seem to catch sight of him simultaneously, drawn in by his stark white mask and black hood and cloak, but he ignores their clamoring. His stomach clenches; he has spotted Kushina and Rin at the front desk. They’ve turned to see what the commotion is about so he reluctantly pushes his hood back, revealing his hair as he paces down the hallway past them. The message is clear and they follow him with pale, anxious faces. He signals the ANBU standing guard at the door to allow them through.

Once the first set of doors has closed behind them, he slows down and turns.

Kushina looks up at him with frightened, red rimmed eyes. “Is it true?” She demands.

He doesn’t hesitate. Mikoto is – was – her best friend. There’s no one else in the hallway, so he takes off the hound mask hiding his identity. He sees them recoil and wonders what they’re seeing on his face.

He nods sharply, just once. It’s hard to breathe, all of a sudden.

Kushina’s face tightens and her shoulders come up. Her eyes shine with unshed tears, as though she already knows what’s coming next. “Is – is she…”

She can read it from his face before he says anything and crumples, breaking into sobs. Rin, looking shellshocked, catches her and draws her to her chest, rubbing soothingly across her back. Rin’s eyes flick back to meet his. Her eyes are wide but dry, darting over his face as if she tries to read his thoughts.

“Who else?” She asks quietly.

He opens his mouth and closes it again. Runs a hand across his face. “We’re still counting,” he admits, “but we think it’s everyone but the boys. Everyone but Sasuke,” he amends, because Itachi has lost his right to the moniker. “I’m going to see him now, see if I can help or find out anything else.”

“It’s true, then?” Kushina chokes out. “Itachi-kun was the one who…”

“Yes,” he says. It still seems impossible, but he knows it to be true.

Kushina is shaking her head. “Her son. She was killed by her _son_. I don’t understand, I –“ she slaps a hand over her mouth and looks away, squeezing her eyes shut. “I think I might be sick.”

“Some things can’t be understood,” Rin says softly. She tightens her hold on Kushina. “Is Sasuke hurt?”

“No.” It’s the strangest thing. Why go to all those lengths, and then leave one person alive? Only one answer makes sense. “Perhaps he couldn’t bring himself to…” He trails off, shakes his head. “Hell if I know. I thought I knew him. Obviously not.”

The tremor in his voice finally breaks through and gives him away. Rin’s eyes soften. “Kakashi…”

He shakes his head. “Not here, not now,” he says, taking a deep breath to steady himself. “Later. Go, take Kushina home. Don’t leave her alone. I’ll come later, when I have more news.”

“No, no – Sasuke, I should be there for him, I should,” Kushina argues, struggling against Rin’s hold.

“Not like this, Kushina-nee, you won’t help anyone,” Rin begins, but Kushina won’t hear it.

“No one was there for you when your father died,” she says, staring at Kakashi and cutting right down to the bone. “Wouldn’t you have wanted there to be a familiar face?”

It’s a harsh question, particularly after the day he’s had and the dreams that are sure to come once he goes to sleep, but he can see her point. Still, he hesitates. “If he’s conscious at all, they’re currently questioning him,” he says. “I don’t know if they will let you in.”

Kushina straightens her back and steps out of Rin’s embrace. “Tough. I’m not going to give them a choice. If he were my son, I would want someone to be there.” Her eyes drill into him, as hard as steel. “Take me there.”

He is reminded she has lost her home, her family, her agency, her husband, and now her best friend. She is a woman accustomed to pain.

He holds her gaze for a moment before he has to look away. He nods. “Follow me, then. We will see what we can do.”

* * *

The two of them go home with Kushina around five in the morning, both of them exhausted and more than a little shell-shocked. Sasuke sleeps bundled in Kakashi’s arms during the commute, deathly pale. Kushina’s arrival has turned out to be a godsend; only she had been able to coax words out of him, and soothe his soft moans. He had spoken, briefly, about what had happened. He confirmed their worst fears.

Kakashi feels numb.

Kakashi remembered Sasuke as a bright, cheerful child. Now, the boy reminds him of a wounded animal, keening and terrified. Even in sleep, one of his small hands is fisted tightly around Kakashi’s cloak. He has latched onto the three of them the moment they had come through the door.

He had begged them to tell him where his parents were.

In the end, Kushina simply wrapped him up into an embrace and told the Hokage she would be taking him home, screw their questions. Sandaime conceded the point with the saddest expression Kakashi had ever seen on him.

Kushina is still crying as she paces beside Kakashi, but there’s an angry determination in her eyes that keeps her standing through the pain. Kakashi recognizes it as the same strength she had found when she first woke up to find her husband dead, her child grown without her, and her career destroyed. She soldiered on. She was the champion of soldiering on.

Kakashi is glad Rin hadn’t been as close to Fugaku as he had been to Mikoto. Her grief is for Kakashi and Kushina and the boy more than anything else. When they get to the apartment it's Rin who organizes things; the boy is to sleep with Kushina, or he might panic in the night, and tomorrow Rin will go and buy clothes for him. None of them want to go back to the compound to collect his old things. Kakashi is ordered to take off his armor and sleep on the couch – Rin will take the spare room.

She understands very well that he won’t get any sleep tonight, but that he will feel leagues better if he can feel like he’s helping somehow. Even if it’s just standing guard over a little boy and a grieving mother.

Rin even brews them all tea. She’s calm and composed throughout, even when Sasuke almost slaps the cup out of her hand. The boy turns his head away, black eyes filled with tears.

“You need to drink something. Doctor’s orders,” Rin says, and puts the cup on the nightstand. She brushes dark bangs away from Sasuke’s face. “You can wait for it to cool down, but I want you to drink something, okay?”

Sasuke’s expression softens a little. His lip wobbles and he nods. Rin smiles faintly and kisses his forehead.

“Kushina-nee, I want you in bed too,” she says, looking to where Kushina is staring at Naruto’s door.

“But we need to tell him something –“ she begins, but Rin shakes her head.

“Naruto is asleep right now. Let him. Tomorrow will be confusing enough as it is,” Rin says.

“I will intercept him if he wakes up,” Kakashi says, trying to sound comforting.

Kushina looks deathly pale. Eventually, she nods, and moves back to the bedroom. She curls up on the bed next to Sasuke and wraps her arms around the boy. After a moment, Sasuke hugs her back and begins to quietly sob. Kakashi’s heart aches.

Rin closes the bedroom door and sags down onto the couch next to him. She looks exhausted. “Are you okay?” She asks.

He shrugs. “Been better.”

Her eyes well with tears. “I’m so sorry. I know you and Mikoto were close.” Her hands come up and she draws him in to her embrace. He lets her. It’s a terrible day. He can acknowledge that, even if the tears still won’t come.

“It’s an awful way to die,” he says, after a while. It’s the only thing he can think of to say.

Her arms tighten around him. Soft lips press a kiss to his head. “I know.”

“I didn’t see it coming. He was my teammate, but I didn’t see it coming.”

“I know. It’s okay.”

He clenches his eyes shut and buries his face in her shoulder. His eyes remain dry.

* * *

The next day is still a mess. Naruto wakes up and screams in excitement when he sees his best friend, who _has snuck into the house at night_, that’s so _cool_, Sasuke, wow! Sasuke only flinches at the noise. He’s as pale as a ghost and dark shadows circle his eyes. He’s slept about as much as Kakashi has, from the look of things.

Naruto’s grin dims and he gives Kakashi a concerned look. “Is Sasuke sick?”

Kakashi’s heart jumps. He has no idea how to explain any of it to a seven-year-old. He doesn’t even know how to explain it to himself, other than “life sucks, deal with it”. It’s not an explanation Naruto would understand.

“Uhh, kind of,” he says, because he has to say something, and steers Naruto towards the bathroom by his shoulders. “You need to take it easy on him for a bit, okay? He saw something…” – Traumatizing, horrific, inhuman – “ very scary last night, and he needs to stay with you guys for a bit.”

Naruto’s brows furrow as he steps up unto the bathroom stool and looks into the mirror. “Like a scary movie?”

“… scarier than that.”

Naruto turns familiar blue eyes on him. “Like that time you came home with all the blood? And you had to go to the hospital? When mom and Rin-nee-chan were so scared?”

Kakashi wishes Naruto didn’t have memories like that. “A little bit like that. But worse.”

“Was his brother hurt?”

Kakashi nearly bites his tongue off. “His brother… No, not his brother. But his mom and dad.” And his aunts, his uncles, grandparents, his cousins, and so on and so on.

He doesn’t notice Naruto is studying his face at first, but then the little boy nods and says, “Like my dad?” There is a knowing look in his eyes.

Kakashi sighs. “Yeah. Like your dad.” He picks up the frog themed children’s toothbrush from the tray and puts toothpaste on it. “Open wide,” he says, and carefully sticks the toothbrush into Naruto’s mouth.

Naruto’s little fingers wrap around his own and take hold of the toothbrush. He stares at himself in the mirror and brushes his teeth with uncharacteristic fervor. Kakashi looks up and stares at himself, too. He looks tired. He looks, for the first time in his life, _old_. He wonders if Minato could have stopped the massacre, if he had lived. Wonders if he himself could have done it, if only he’d been in the right place at the right time, instead of _napping on a couch_.

He doesn’t notice he’s practically snarling at himself until Naruto pokes his chin with the toothbrush. “Don’t look so mean,” Naruto says. “You didn’t hurt Sasuke’s parents, right?”

Kakashi’s face relaxes. It takes effort. “No. I didn’t.”

“You’re really sad, too,” Naruto says, because of all the qualities he inherited from his parents empathy is the best one. There’s a kind of wisdom to him that Kakashi hopes he’ll never lose.

“It’s sad when someone dies,” Kakashi says.

No more training sessions with Mikoto. No more eating the dirt because of some clever trick she played. No more working his ass off to try and make her smile. No more Mikoto.

Of course he’s fucking sad. He’s sick of losing people.

Naruto finishes brushing his teeth so Kakashi takes the brush again and goes for another round, because seven-year-olds are notoriously bad at getting all the plaque. It’s strangely mundane to be brushing his baby brother’s teeth after the night he’s had. It’s a good reminder that he has things to fight for.

When Naruto is completely done in the bathroom, the two of them return to Kushina’s cozy kitchen/dining room. Kakashi is surprised to see the two women have managed to lure Sasuke out of the bedroom. He’s less surprised that the boy hasn’t eaten a bite of the breakfast Rin has made him.

Naruto notices too, and halts in the middle of the living room. His shoulders look impossibly narrow underneath his oversized pajama shirt. He squares them anyway. Naruto stomps up to the table and takes the seat next to Sasuke. Sasuke’s eyes briefly catch on him, but the usual joy at seeing Naruto is replaced by a guarded suspicion.

Even so, Naruto stares him directly in the eye. “I know you’re sad, but it’s okay. You can stay with me and mommy, for as long as you like,” he says, and that, it seems, is that.

Kushina and Rin smile at Kakashi from across the table.

* * *

"Is this what you were like after your father died?" Rin murmurs into the dark one night, as they lie in bed together.

Kakashi stays silent for long enough that she thinks he's fallen asleep. Finally, he says, "it's similar."

She wraps her arm around his waist and doesn't let go.

* * *

Kushina formally adopts Sasuke six months later. Well, “adopts” – technically, it’s guardianship; the council didn’t want to create a situation where Sasuke might have to lose his surname. Rin thinks this is probably a mistake. The poor kid could do without the pressure of a haunted name.

Sasuke is getting better, slowly but surely. He’s going to school again, and spends hours in the backyard practicing his kicks. He looks to Rin for affection and advice, and to Kakashi for a role model on how to be a shinobi and a man.

He loves Kushina and Naruto, plain and simple, and sticks by their side wherever he goes. At the Academy, the two boys are inseparable. In turn, Naruto protects him like an overzealous guard dog, barking and snapping at whoever looks at Sasuke the wrong way. It’s a kind of symbiosis Rin thinks they should be wary of, but…

She had that kind of symbiosis with Kakashi, once. After Isobu, and her father rejecting her. After Minato. She’s not sure how she would have coped without him. She knows he wouldn’t have coped well without her. His response to pain is to follow the siren’s call of adrenaline. She worries, often, about what would happen to him if she were to die. What he would do.

So for now, she doesn’t interfere. Sasuke needs an anchor in the world, and the Uzumaki family is happy to play the part. Frankly, it helps Kushina and Kakashi too in coping with their loss. She catches them often following Sasuke with their eyes, as wary as a mother wolf watching her cubs.

They all come to love Sasuke, one way or another. He’s theirs now, part of their broken little family. He shouldn’t be, but he is.

Well. If nothing else, the five of them are good at soldiering on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m… sorry?
> 
> I love Mikoto. I love writing her. I just couldn’t see a way around this.
> 
> Let me know what you think! Let me know if you want to see specific events from canon, or have a prompt of your own.
> 
> If you're into Critical Role, check out my new one-shot "Burned Out".

**Author's Note:**

> Prompts are always welcome!


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